The present invention broadly relates to infeeding and outfeeding of substantially flat products arranged in an imbricated formation and, more specifically pertains to a new and improved apparatus for changing the position of printed products in an imbricated formation. The present invention also relates to the use of the new and improved apparatus in order to form modified imbricated formations.
Generally speaking, the apparatus of the present invention is of the type comprising a conveying device defining a plane of conveyance for the imbricated formation and at least one position-change or positioning device provided with revolvingly driven entrainment members which pass through at least one closed revolving path. The rotational speed of the at least one position-change or positioning device is greater than the predetermined conveying speed of the conveying device and the entrainment members can be brought to act upon the trailing or upstream edges of the printed products as viewed in the predetermined conveying direction.
Such an apparatus for evening or making uniform an imbricated stream of printed products is known, for example, from Swiss Patent No. 631,410, published Aug. 13, 1982. The apparatus disclosed therein comprises a band or belt conveyor in order to supply the printed products arranged in an imbricated formation to a flow-downstream located position-change or positioning device. An outfeed device constructed as a band or belt conveyor is arranged downstream of the position-change or positioning device in order to discharge the evened imbricated formation. The position-change or positioning device comprises entrainment members arranged in an evenly spaced relationship to one another at a revolvingly driven traction member. The entrainment members are revolvingly driven at a higher speed than the conveying speed of the imbricated formation. At the start and at the end of the conveying-active path of the position-change or positioning device, the traction member is guided around rotatably mounted deflection rolls each rotating about a horizontal axis.
The revolving path of the entrainment members thus extends in a plane extending in the conveying direction of the imbricated formation and perpendicular to the plane of conveyance of the imbricated formation. The entrainment members underrun the infed imbricated formation and engage the respective trailing edges of the printed products. The spacing or pitch of the printed products supplied to the outfeed device by the entrainment members of the position-change or positioning device corresponds to the spacing or distance between the entrainment members. This known apparatus is complicated in construction and design and requires a considerable overall length. A change of the spacing or pitch between the trailing product edges in the evened imbrication formation is not possible.
A further apparatus for making uniform or evening an imbricated stream of printed products is known, for example, from Swiss Patent No. 610,276 and its cognate U.S. Pat. No. 4,072,228, granted Feb. 7, 1978. This known apparatus comprises a band or belt conveyor which conveys the imbricated formation to a flow-downstream arranged position-change or positioning device which, after accomplishing the evening of the spacing or pitch between the printed products, delivers the imbricated formation to an outfeed device for further conveyance. The position-change or positioning device comprises a number of revolving entrainment members which are in a drag connection with one another and guided in an endless closed channel. The upper extended conveying-active branch of the endless closed channel is located in the imaginary extended plane of conveyance defined by the band or belt conveyor. At the start and at the end of the conveying-active path of the position-change or positioning device there are provided a thrust drive and a traction drive which are synchronized with the band or belt conveyor and the outfeed device, respectively, and which act directly on the entrainment members.
In the starting region of the conveying-active path, each entrainment member bears upon the trailing or upstream edge of a printed product and entrains such printed product in the conveying direction. In the course of the conveying-active path the entrainment members are either pushed by the trailing or upstream entrainment members or pulled by the leading or downstream entrainment members because of the drag connection thereof. At the end of the conveying-active path the entrainment members deliver the printed products, due to the synchronized traction drive, in fixed-cycle fashion or rhythm to the outfeed device or conveyor, so that the spacing or pitch between the printed products in the outfed imbricated formation is constant. By virtue of the drag connection which permits relative movements between adjacent entrainment members, this apparatus can also compensate for phase shifts occurring between the take-over cycle and the delivery cycle. However, this known apparatus is complicated in construction and design and the space requirements therefor are considerable.